View source for Kanowna, Western Australia

{{Short description|Ghost town in Western Australia}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2015}}
{{Use Australian English|date=June 2015}}
{{Infobox Australian place | type = town
| name     = Kanowna
| state    = wa
| image    = File:CSIRO ScienceImage 1226 Ore Truck at the Silver Swan Nickel Mine.jpg
| caption  = The Silver Swan Nickel Mine, north-east of Kanowna, in 2003
| lga      = [[City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder|Kalgoorlie-Boulder]]
| map_type = nomap
| local_map   = yes
| zoom        = 7
| coordinates = {{coord|-30.61|121.60|display=it|region:AU-WA_type:city}}
| postcode = 6431
| est      = 1894
| pop               = <!--leave blank to draw the latest automatically from Wikidata-->
| area     = {{wikidata|property|raw|P2046}}
| elevation= 377
| maxtemp  = 
| mintemp  = 
| rainfall = 
| stategov = [[Electoral district of Kalgoorlie|Kalgoorlie]]
| fedgov   = [[Division of O'Connor|O'Connor]]
| dist1    = 615
| dir1     = east
| location1= [[Perth, Western Australia|Perth]]
| dist2    = 20
| dir2     = NE
| location2= [[Kalgoorlie, Western Australia|Kalgoorlie]]
| dist3    = 56
| dir3     = NE
| location3= [[Coolgardie, Western Australia|Coolgardie]]
}}
'''Kanowna''' is a [[ghost town]] in the [[Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia|Goldfields]] region of [[Western Australia]],  about {{convert|20|km|mi}} east of [[Kalgoorlie, Western Australia|Kalgoorlie]]. At the 2016 census, Kanowna had a population of 10 people.<ref name=pop>[http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2016/quickstat/SSC50715?opendocument ABS]</ref>

After the discovery of [[gold]] in the area in 1893, the townsite was gazetted in 1894.<ref>{{LandInfo WA|c|K|16 November 2010}}</ref> and the population grew from 2,500 in 1897 to over 12,500 by 1899.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://members.westnet.com.au/caladenia/ghosttowns/K.pdf|title=Morowa District Historical Society|year=2009|access-date=16 November 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110312060659/http://members.westnet.com.au/caladenia/ghosttowns/K.pdf|archive-date=12 March 2011|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

However, the [[alluvial]] gold supply was rapidly exhausted and underground mines following the outcropping vein produced decreasing amounts of gold, resulting in a slow but steady decrease in the population. The railway station, terminus of the [[Kalgoorlie to Kanowna railway line]], was closed during the [[Great Depression]], and by 1953 the town had been abandoned. The railway station platform, two cemeteries and mine workings are all that is left of the original town of Kanowna. Signs erected by the Eastern Goldfields Historical Society mark the sites of significant buildings.

Increasing gold prices in the late 1970s sparked renewed interest in exploring the geology of the area for new sources of gold. The discovery of a large amount of gold, previously undiscovered because the vein did not reach the surface, made gold mining in the region economically viable again. Mining recommenced in 1986, initially as [[open-cut mining]], before moving to underground mines. As of 2002, the [[Kanowna Belle]] mine employed more than 300 people.

==See also==
* [[Electoral district of Kanowna]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* Laurie, Kris (Kristien Elizabeth) (1993) ''Kanowna heritage trail : commemorating Kanowna's centenary, 1893–1993''. Kalgoorlie, W.A : Kalgoorlie-Boulder Tourist Centre for Delta Gold N.L.
* Baugh, Robert (2016), ''Wealth for the Willing: The Story of Kanowna''. 4/67 McCallum Lane, Victoria Park, Western Australia. ISBN 978-0-646-96359-4

{{Towns Goldfields-Esperance WA}}
{{authority control}}

[[Category:Ghost towns in Western Australia]]


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